Travel Guide to Berlin

Berlin, a passionately trendy city

A thriving centre for art, design, and music, the German capital will keep surprising you with its madness and beauty.

Germany's capital and largest city, Berlin has 3.5 million inhabitants. From 1961 to 1989, the city was divided in two by the Berlin Wall, and it was not until 1990 that it again became the nation's capital. From monuments, damaged walls, and Soviet-era buildings, remnants from the past surround you everywhere. Despite its ever-present history, the city is one of the youngest in Europe, completely looking towards the future. It's bustling day and night with partying, dancing, bicycling, open-air museums, and dance halls down at the waterfront. For artists and creators, Berlin now is like the New York of the 1960s, a city where everything is possible… and a little crazy.
Berlin is full of history, and its monuments remind you of it on every street corner. The Reichstag, Museum Island, and the Holocaust Memorial are essential stops during your journey to Berlin. Take advantage of your stay to discover an abandoned airport transformed into family park, climb to the top of the TV tower that dominates the city, find out about the remains of the Wall, decorated by artists from around the world, sail on the Spree river or visit an old train station transformed into a museum of contemporary art.
You can also grab a takeaway currywurst, Berlin's favourite sausage, test the Korean barbecue in one of the most cosmopolitan addresses in the city, or book a table at Cookies Cream, the vegetarian restaurant known around the world. In Berlin, you can sleep in a former embassy overlooking the zoo, in a slightly quirky arty hotel with basketball hoops in the lobby, or rent a stylish apartment in the heart of the city. Here, everything is different, ecstatically underground and offbeat, yet always so vibrant.